This invention relates to locking switches for use in electrical systems, and particularly for such locking switches used in an automobile electrical system between a battery and an electric starter.
Automobiles are especially prone to theft, partially due to the ease with which the ignition switch can be circumvented, as by a procedure known as "jumping" the ignition. In this procedure, the input lead to the ignition switch is connected to the output lead from same by use of jumper wire having alligator clips on each end, thereby completing the electrical circuit between the battery and the starter. Attempts to protect the ignition switch by means of armoured tubing have not been successful against the more sophisticated auto thief. One solution to this problem has been to provide a secondary locking switch between the battery and the electric starter. However, such devices have been found to be lacking in a variety of ways, including use of poor means of opening, or deenergizing, the system, inadequate contact areas, and inadequate protection of the locking switch itself. Additionally, many such locking switches do not adequately protect the electrical contacts to inhibit "jumping" of the switch.